Book Review : Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. What Could possibly go wrong?

Truly, Madly, Guilty is a story of 6 adults, their relationship with each other, with their family and friends.

The story revolved around what happened during what was supposedly a fun BBQ afternoon in Vid & Tiffany’s house. An accident happened to one of Sam & Clementine’s kids and Erika and Oliver came to the rescue.

What happened during the BBQ was revealed in the middle of the novel and the first half of it was about the history of Erika and Clementine’s friendship since they were kids and as well the cause and effect of that BBQ afternoon to their lives.

There were several issues discussed in the novel. Family, friendship, marriage, parenthood and others.

One of the issues that really made me re evaluate myself is the issue of kindness.

This book made me question the kind of kindness that I have. Am I kind because I am naturally kind? Or am I kind because I feel that I need to be kind? Am I kind only to kind people? Do I need to be kind to unkind people? Am I kind because I need something in return? Am I kind because I feel guilty?

Kindness is a very beautiful thing but it can be mixed with different motives and that’s what makes it questionable. We are all kind in a way, but as humans we can’t remove that tiny bit of selfishness within us.

Clementine was being kind, and kindness was the most important thing at all, except that Clementine didn’t feel kind. She was faking it. She didn’t want anything to do with this dirty-looking little girl. Her selfishness was a nasty secret she had to hide at all cost because Clementine was privileged.

I liked this book because its kind of an Adulting 101 novel and it touched several issues that adults face. Issues that are usually ignored or left unsaid until the relationship gets complicated.

What I don’t like is the narration. It’s a little bit confusing to me and there’s so many side comments. I’m not sure if all of those were necessary. What I also don’t like is the feeling of watching an afternoon soap opera with overly dramatic lines that you know, will never be said in real life.

Side story

I would never have picked this book up from the shelf if my husband did not. Looking at the title, I felt like it’s a parody of Savage Garden’s Truly, Madly, Deeply. The title also gave me a feeling that it’s some kind of adult romance or something, this is not really my type of reads. However, since this was the very first time my husband took a book for me, I bought it. See, my husband never even accompanied me inside bookstores. He knows he will have to wait for a long time before I can leave the store so he will just look for a place to sit. He is also not a big fan of books. So this time, when I saw him reading the blurb and even laughed at the question ‘What could possibly go wrong?’ I took the book without second thoughts.

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Author: aysabaw

Aysa is a self-proclaimed hotelier without any culinary talent. She used to fly around Dubai for ten years via her magic carpet but destiny led her to a new path. She is now a little mermaid swimming in and around the Maldivian waters.
If she is not reading her books, writing something comical, leaving rubbish comments on your posts or strumming her guitar, then she's up to some mischief.
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Aysa is a self-proclaimed hotelier without any culinary talent. She used to fly around Dubai for ten years via her magic carpet but destiny led her to a new path. She is now a little mermaid swimming in and around the Maldivian waters.
If she is not reading her books, writing something comical, leaving rubbish comments on your posts or strumming her guitar, then she's up to some mischief.